


Zoning Out and Zoning In

by NysaWrites



Category: Beetlejuice (1988), Beetlejuice - All Media Types
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, References to Depression, Slow Burn, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:28:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23726083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NysaWrites/pseuds/NysaWrites
Summary: Mina decides to make a few changes in her life, hoping to be happier. Will that include changes in her friendship with Beetlejuice?
Relationships: Beetlejuice/Originial Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	1. I Quit

The first thing she wanted to do was to call her friends and tell her what happened. That’s what she thought. But as she walked through her front door, Mina dropped her satchel bag, took off her shoes, and marched towards her kitchen. An ice cold beer would be refreshing right about now. Phone calls can come after a few sips.

Mina decided to take her beer to her bedroom and lay down, still in her work clothes, and just… breathe. She realized that she left her phone in her bag by the door. Ah, well. It can wait.

It was a mixture of calmness and panic. Anxiety and relaxation. It boiled in her stomach and bubbled up to her throat, feeling like she was about to overflow with tears. Or perhaps it was the urge to scream? Out of happiness or out of fear, she really couldn’t say. It was difficult to pinpoint where her thoughts were going at this moment. Mina’s thought process was usually pretty clear cut, like going up a set of stairs. Now, a deafening silence filled her mind.

That’s when she felt his presence. She hadn’t seen him for maybe… two weeks? She couldn’t tell how long it had been precisely. She could feel that he was watching her, feeling a small dip in her mattress from where he was, presumably, sitting down, examining her. He liked to pry, but in a genuinely sincere way, despite how much she struggled with voicing her thoughts and feelings sometimes. He was scoping out the battlefield, seeing how troubled she was, seeing how on edge she was, deciding if he should walk on eggshells or pretend nothing was wrong and joke around as usual. All of this was in preparation for when she decided to call him. Three times.

“Beej, I know you’re there. Sorry I haven’t called,” Mina said with a sigh.

She felt what she seemed like a pat on her knee, but it was so faint and soft that it was hard to tell.

“So, I finally quit,” she chuckled. “It was long overdue. That job was draining me, which I’m sure you could tell. I just need to… recharge my batteries a bit before I entertain any guests, if you don’t mind.”

This time, it was obvious. She felt a definite nudge on her shoulder.

“Not that you’re just a guest, of course. Dear friends are included in that category as well,” she smiled, turning towards where she assumed he was.

She downed the rest of her beer, already feeling a bit more cheerful. She got up from bed and went to grab her phone from her bag, cheeks tightened from the small smirk she had on. The situation was starting to dawn on her. No more arguing with her boss- well, ex-boss. No more stupid meetings, no more stupid emails and definitely no more stupid commuting. Relief quickly swept through her body as an entire weight fell off of her shoulders.

The only thing she did worry about, slightly, was finances. Mina was a pretty frugal and thrifty person. She had enough savings to live comfortably for about 6 months before needing to replace her full time job. If she were to get a part time job before that 6 month period though, she could stretch her savings even more.

She wasn’t really sure what she wanted to do. To work and slave away for a paycheck never really appealed to her. Mina wanted to give back to the community somehow but, unfortunately, jobs like that rarely paid well. Maybe there was something out there for her. Regardless, it was time to relax, decompress and take a much needed vacation, even if it involved staying at home and catching up on chores that she had neglected for the last few months. If the chores were piled up, the self-care she needed to do was even more backed up.

Her phone had 9 missed calls and 3 voicemails. Mina quickly glanced at who the missed calls were from and was unsurprised when she saw her ex-boss’ name. The voicemails were the same. All were quickly deleted. As Mina went to place her phone in her pocket, the look of her work clothes still on her disgusted her. She needed to get out of these clothes.

There was an unspoken rule in the house. Beetlejuice was more than welcome to search around the house and mess with whatever he wanted to if he was bored. He would sometimes grab food from the fridge just to taste it, not really eat it, and that was fine too. Anything missing or out of place was swept under the rug. It’s just something that Mina had gotten used to during these past few months since she came upon his name and first summoned him. She knew full well that if she placed something of hers in one spot, it might be somewhere else later. She was flexible with all of that.

Certain things, though, weren’t as flexible and he knew that. Anytime she was in the shower, changing clothes or anything private would be treated as such: private. Of course, he had joked about how he’d like to peep and how he’d like to see what she’s got on underneath, but Mina could always feel when he was in a room with her and even when his eyes were on her.   
The room would fill with a stagnant scent, not necessarily good or bad, but it was very… still. That was the best way she could describe it. His presence was like a small weight on her back, unlike any stress or tension that she usually feels. A slight chill would pass her if he got too close to her, which was welcoming, in some situations, actually. It helped her feel like she was actually there, in that moment. Mina always found that funny. Beetlejuice helped her feel more alive and present than any other living human she had met. 

Now that she thought about it, hanging out with Beetlejuice was probably the only thing that has kept her going these past few months. 

After changing into a t-shirt, gym shorts and socks, she closed her closet door and sat back onto her bed with her phone in her hand. She went to group messages to update her friends on what had happened and started typing. Mina could feel her energy being zapped as she started retelling exactly what happened. It was just too much to explain right now.

Her friends had known that she was stressed out at work, but that was the extent of it. They didn’t know the specifics. They didn’t know how deep of a hole she was in mentally at this point. Only one person could say they knew how she truly felt, even if she didn’t voice it directly. 

She placed her phone to charge on her nightstand and stood up. She took a deep breath.

“Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice.”


	2. Fiery Tension

Mina wasn’t sure if he made it a point to add a little flair to his entrances or if it came naturally but it always put a smile to her face. This time was no different as Beetlejuice appeared in front of her in an instant, one hand on his hip as he leaned against the wall with a snarky smirk covering his face.

“Heya babes. Long time no spook. Guess you finally missed your old exorcist in shining armor, huh?” he chuckled. “Alright, lay it on me,” he straightened himself out, dusted off his suit and started glancing around the room. “What’re we doin’? Drinks, movies, thieving, killing, the works?”

His rapidfire way of speaking was sometimes difficult to keep up with but overall, his energy was refreshing.

“I’ve got a bunch of work shirts with the company logo on them that I’ll never wear again. Know of any way to destroy them for good?” Mina cocked her head to the side, knowing this would be messy but fun.

Beetlejuice stepped a bit closer to her, gazing into her eyes with a devilish smirk painted on his face.

“You know me babes, I’m the ghost with the most! That also includes the most destruction.”

In an instant, all of Mina’s shirts were in a pile next to, what looked like… a metal garbage can? She peeked to see what was inside of it and saw slightly damp newspaper. Beetlejuice made his way behind Mina and leaned into her ears.

“It’s showtime babes,” he said while putting his hand in front of her face, fingertips on fire.

Mina smiled so hard that her cheeks hurt a little. She let out an excited squeal and turned around quickly. 

“Oh, hell ye-” she exclaimed, stopping herself mid-sentence when she realized how close their faces were. It was unintentional but Beetlejuice didn’t seem to mind. Mina glanced at his lips, if only for a second, and looked right back up into his eyes. He definitely noticed that. His smirk turned into a grin as his eyes became more sultry.

“Let’s do this thing,” Mina coughed, unsure of what to do, and took a step back.  
She turned her back to him and started placing shirts into the garbage can, piling it messily. Whatever magical fire he was using would be sure to burn right through all of this, so who needs organization?

Mina could sense that Beetlejuice was just staring at her and could hear him shuffle a little. The air felt a little awkward and tense but that was sure to go away after some fun.

“Alright Beej, light this trash up!”

“You got it babes,” he beamed. “Fire in the hole!”

A burst of blue flame erupted from the garbage can, licking the ceiling of her bedroom. That’ll be another chore to take care of. The flame calmed slightly but Mina could see that the color was changing. The fire went from a deep blue to an emerald green, then to a ruby red. It got lighter in color and waves of yellow and white were showing. Little sparks from flying from the top with a purplish hue and the flame began to dance. She watched in awe at this beautiful display, completely enamored by… the fire. Yeah, the fire. That’s what it was.

After a few minutes of this, the fire calmed completely and started burning evenly. Mina turned to look back at Beetlejuice.

“Beej, that was…”

A shrieking, high-pitched beep was heard, making Mina duck down and cover her ears, until she realized it was her smoke detectors. She peeked up to look at Beetlejuice and saw an irritated scowl covering his face. She guessed that the smoke detector’s beeping must have been annoying.

Beetlejuice snapped his fingers and the smoke from the fire disappeared in an instant. Mina rose to her feet and opened her bedroom windows, hopefully to get out some of the smell that lingered.

“Thanks for the damage control, Beej. You’ve got a knack for impressing me, you know that?”

“Hey, I gotta be good at something, you know? If I burned down your house, where else would I loiter and pickpocket unsuspecting breathers?” he chuckled.

“Ah, I was wondering where the priceless valuables that I always carry in my pockets at home were,” she laughed. “But I meant I was impressed with your… performance. Sorry if that wasn’t clear,” she stammered.

His eyes lit up and he smiled from ear to ear.

“You liked that huh? I’m pretty good with a lot of things, sweets. I’ll be sure to keep you on your toes,” he said confidently. He placed his hands in his pockets and started looking around the room, avoiding eye contact. “What next, babes? These shirts are as good as dust and I’m the expert on dust.”

Mina thought for a moment and realized that there was one last piece of property from her job that she wanted to destroy and she was sure Beetlejuice would happily help with that.

She ran down her stairs and rummaged through her bag until she found what she was looking for. Beetlejuice had either ran after her or simply teleported behind her, waiting to see. She turned and jingled a set of keys in front of his face and he flashed a toothy grin at her.


	3. Dust to dust

Despite the fact that they were her work keys, they were adorned with a few keychains and trinkets. Little things like that were always an easy way to make Mina’s day. Anytime she had to pull them out and she got a glance of the little braided friendship bracelet from her best friend or the black and white beaded lizard keychain from Beej, her heart soared ever so slightly. It was a reminder that there were people that cared for her, waiting for her whenever she was ready to talk, have some fun or needed support.

Mina carefully slipped the friendship bracelet off of the set of keys. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long enough to wrap around her wrists. She pocketed it, deciding to attach it to another set of keys or to tie it onto something else. She’d figure it out later. She palmed the beaded lizard and stared at it for a moment. It was messily assembled, the beads were too loose, and the white beads looked old, giving off a slightly greyish color. None of that mattered, it was still a treasured present.

Beetlejuice had been rummaging around her home one day while she was at work. Before she left for work that day, he mentioned that he needed to “get his hands on something”. Mina dismissed that as one of his many innuendos. It wasn’t until she came home and saw a kitchen table piled high with arts and crafts that she understood what he meant. He had found her tin watercolor case, cardstock paper, paintbrushes, beads, string, yarn and knitting needles. What a day he must have had. He had two paintings set to the side, drying. They looked as though Beetlejuice was just testing the colors and seeing how they looked wet and dry. Some scribbles decorated the corners and splash marks were all around. He had attempted to start knitting… something. But Mina wasn’t exactly sure what it was. She figured he missed a few loops and, instead of starting over, he just continued. So now there was a square-ish piece of knitting that was patchy.

That beaded lizard looked the best out of everything. Beetlejuice held it up proudly and ran towards Mina with it in his hands. 

“Babes! You’re back! How was work? Shitty, I know. Anyways, this little bastard’s for you,” he said as he shoved it towards her.

“Beej, it’s… really cute! I love it.”

If he was happy before, he was absolutely on the moon after Mina’s reaction.

Mina could feel Beetlejuice’s stare as she zoned out with the beaded lizard in her hand. She looked up at him.

“Hey, I never asked. Why’d you make this for me?” she asked.

Beetlejuice looked to the side and shuffled slightly.

“Eh, who knows babes. I figured a stupid pile of beads would put a smile on your face… or something. We trashin’ that or what?” He reached out for the lizard, prompting Mina to pull back immediately. He frowned a little and cocked his head.

“No way! I’m keeping this ‘little bastard’ forever. You’ll have to take it from my grave if you want it so badly,” she laughed.

Beetlejuice gave her a puzzled look.

Mina unwound the string attaching the lizard to the keys, removing it completely, then gave the lizard a quick kiss and shoved it in her pocket.

“He’ll stay in there for a bit until I find him a new home,” she said.

Beetlejuice showed off a bright smile and laughed.

“Lucky bastard. Gimme those keys already.”

He snatched the keys and started running towards the kitchen and Mina followed. He was a fast runner but she was able to keep up.

He held out the keys above her sink. Specifically, above the garbage disposal installed in the sink.

“Wait, Beej! I’m all up for shredding them but I don’t wanna have to call the repair guy either!”

He pouted slightly until what seemed like a lightbulb went off over his head.

“No prob, sweets. Let’s upgrade this, netherworld style!”

Beetlejuice snapped his fingers and a puff of smoke emerged from the garbage disposal. Mina peeked into the sink to see what torture device he brought into this world this time. Inside, she could see rows upon rows of extremely sharp teeth, rotating clockwise and dripping with some type of eerily green color. Was this some kind of machine or an animal in her garbage disposal?

“Wanna do the honors, sweets?” he leaned in and bumped her shoulder, holding out the keys to her.

She took the keys and couldn’t help but notice that their hands brushed up against each other. Was that a dust of pink on his cheeks…?

“With pleasure,” she laughed.

Mina dropped the keys into the center of the makeshift metal grinder.

The sound that came out of that monstrosity was horrid. The crunching and munching of metal made Mina cover her ears again. This was now the second time today where she was bothered by sounds. She felt Beetlejuice lean against her shoulders and wrap his arm around her head, placing his hand on top of hers to help cover her ears. He pulled her tight against him so that her other ear, covered by her hand, was pressed up against his chest tightly.

She couldn’t look away from the display, despite the sounds. Seeing those keys reduce to smaller and smaller pieces was satisfying, to say the least. Eventually, they were reduced to a gray dust, promptly swallowed by the abomination with an audible “gulp”.

There was a pause in which Mina and Beetlejuice didn’t move, frozen in place. They were unsure of who would move out of place first. She felt safe in his arms like this. She felt as though he would protect her against anything and everything in this world if she needed it.

The silence was hard to handle and she was the one who broke first. She pulled away slightly and looked up at him.

“Hey, thanks. You know how some noises get to me,” she whispered.

“Anything for you, sweets.”

“...What?”

He bursted out with laughter as he pulled away more, taking his hand off of her ear and prying her hands away by her wrists.

“I said, anything for you sweets. Did you hear me that time?” he leaned closer.

His hands were still wrapped around her wrists, holding them up in the air, as he whispered this to her. She could feel her cheeks start to burn and his eyes were searching every part of her face, inspecting and questioning.

“Loud and clear,” she mumbled under her breath.


	4. Light in the Darkness

Mina and Beetlejuice stayed staring at each other for what felt like eternity. His eyes darted between her eyes and her lips. Hers were locked on his. There was a moment where someone, nobody could say who, leaned in ever so slightly. Her heart was racing, pounding in her chest. Her face was on fire and she was reminded of the heartwarming dance of flames that he created for her and her only. This led her to think of the beaded lizard, something else that he did for her. 

Her thoughts were like a web at this point, going from one point to the next, connecting everything. The heat in her cheeks intensified and was almost unbearable. How much time has passed as they’ve stared at each other like this? She could feel her breathing becoming more unstable, quickening. A sinking feeling pooled in the pit of her stomach. Uh-oh.

The room started spinning, vibrating as everything started darkening. His voice could be heard with a questioning inflection. What was he asking her? She couldn’t understand him. It was a fuzzy, static sound ringing in her ears. Everything was closing in and tightening around her. Whatever firm hold that was enveloping her right now was comforting, at least. It got tighter and tighter and she could feel a soft, gentle motion on the top of her head. The room was slowly becoming still again, sounds beginning to be recognized.

“...okay, okay. You comin’ back now? No worries babe, you’re good, don’t you worry your pretty little head.”

What? Why is he saying all of that? Who is he talking to?

Ah. The pieces were coming together. She was having a panic attack. Or, she had one. Reality was setting back in. Mina realized that they were both sitting on the cold kitchen floor. His arms were wrapped around her, holding her tightly to his chest in a warm embrace, rocking her back and forth slightly, smoothing out her hair with his palm in a steady motion.

She cleared her throat and nudged him a little, indicating that she was okay.

“Babes? You good? Back on Earth?” he murmured under his breath as he tried to be as quiet as possible.

“Yeah, I’m… I’m good now. Sorry, I didn’t-”

“Don’t have to apologize, sweets, you know that. Shit happens.”

The air was tense between them. Mina could feel that there was a question on the tip of his tongue, which was bizarre, considering he never hesitated to ask or say anything on his mind.

“Beej. Talk to me, please.”

“You got it babes. Ah, this’ll make you feel better. There once was a man from Nantucket-”

“What did you wanna ask? Just now. You had something on your mind,” she whispered, voice quivering.

His eyes shifted, looking everywhere but at her.

“You catch onto everything, huh, babes?” he chuckled. “I wanted to ask what set you off. Wait, not like, ‘set you off’, you didn’t get mad at me or anything, I know that-” he rambled.

Mina lifted her arms and returned the embrace, rubbing her hands on his back ever so slightly.

“What triggered my panic attack, you mean?”

“Yeah. I hope it wasn’t anything I did- was doing- uh, was trying to do. I mean…”

This was probably the last thing she expected to see today: a flustered Beetlejuice, pink cheeks and all. 

“Don’t worry, it had nothing to do with anything we almost did,” she giggled. “I think today has just been kind of… jam packed. Lots of noises, you know?”

“Babes! If you need some peace and quiet, you got it, sweets!”

“It’s not silence that I need, it was just a lot of excitement today, I guess,” she frowned.

“That’s alright with me, babes. A lot happened today. Quitting the job, setting your house on fire, bringing my pet here from the Netherworld, I get it,” he shrugged. “Whatcha wanna do now, then?”

“Wait, your pet?” she asked.

“Oh, you know how it is babes. Anyways,” he stood up and pulled her with him, still holding her close. “What is it you need right now, sweets?”

Mina guessed she wasn’t going to get the answer to her question, which she was fine with. She noted that they were still holding each other, casually. She was perfectly content with staying just like this, with him, in this moment, but maybe she needed a change of scenery to collect her thoughts. 

“I think I should take a shower, calm down a bit more.”

“Hell yeah, babes! Lead the way!” he shouted.

“Alone, Beej,” she laughed. “You know what I haven’t done in a while? Painted. Could you do me a solid and get that watercolor kit you had a while back? And the brushes, too. I’m not sure where you left them.”

“You got it babes, I’ll set everything up for a fan-fucking-tastic artsy workshop! Leonardo Dicaprio himself will get his rocks off after what you and me make,” he said, holding her even tighter.

“You definitely mean Leonardo DaVinci,” she smirked, attempting to pull away.

“Tomato, cucumber, who cares,” he said, interlocking his fingers behind her back.

“You know, I have to be able to walk to the bathroom, alone, in order to take that shower.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, babes.”

He pulled away quickly and pulled up his sleeves, giving her a smug look. He snapped his fingers and in an instant, she was in her bathroom with a towel in her hands.


	5. Claude Monet

Mina’s showers were usually very quick, lasting only about ten minutes, but she wanted to really destress and relax right now. She set the water temperature to the absolute max heat, steaming up her bathroom and fogging her mirrors. She undressed and pulled her long hair into a bun, deciding to wash it another time. She glanced at the foggy mirror and decided to draw a few daisies. Giggling to herself, she hopped into the shower.

Her routine was simple, she rarely indulged herself. She used a citrus scented body wash, inhaling the gorgeous summer smell. She would wash her face just before bed over her sink, she decided, as she sat down under the showerhead and let the water cover her body, splashing her hair. 

She wasn’t sure how long her shower had been but it was definitely long enough for Beetlejuice to set up their painting station. She got out of the shower and wrapped herself with the fluffy towel that Beej provided. Usually, she would immediately get dressed and either head to work or to bed. This time, however, she wanted to continue that streak of self-care that she had started.

A citrus body butter to match her body wash, a jasmine scented hair mousse applied to her damp hair, and fuzzy socks should do the trick. Throwing on a paint-stained t-shirt and sweatpants finished the “relaxed and ready to express creativity” look that she was going for. She ran back to the kitchen, excited to spend some quality time with… painting. She sighed to herself, heart racing for what seemed to be the umpteenth time today. It was probably time to face reality. But what if things didn’t turn out the way she wanted them to? What if she was not only rejected but lost a very valuable friendship? Had she been misinterpreting the signs this whole time? 

Mina’s worries and doubts raced through her mind as she stumbled into the backside of her dear friend.

“Babes! You just about ready?” he said, holding two mugs filled with water.

“Definitely,” she said. 

Beetlejuice held a mug with wildflower designs all over it and a mug with a cat on it saying “Good Meow-ning”. She grabbed the wildflower mug and sat down at the table, surprised at how organized everything was.

There were two canvases on the table and an assortment of watercolor paints next to each one with all of the brushes in the center of the table. She noticed that Beetlejuice had mostly warm, earthy paints next to his canvas. Did he have something in mind already?

She looked at her array of mostly pastel watercolor paints next to her and decided to go for a city’s skyline with a rising sun in the background, playing up the pinkish-hues that she loved.

They worked mostly in silence with a few disgruntled noises coming from Beetlejuice every so often. Mina had glanced over to see how he was doing but he promptly covered his canvas and stated that it was a secret.

Her inspiration came from a time when she drove to the top of a nearby hill late one night. She parked and looked at the city below, sitting in her car in silence, and using this time to just… be. She didn’t realize how long she had been there until the sun started to slowly rise, beaming a ray of light onto the city and glistening the morning dew on the grass surrounding the car.

Mina added a few finishing touches as she resolved that although the painting wasn’t exactly like her memory, it was good enough. She turned to look at Beetlejuice and was shocked to see such a concentrated facial expression. He really was trying his best right now. She chuckled, knowing that she would be impressed with just about anything he created.

“Almost done?” she asked.

“Gimme a sec, babes, gotta add some highlights…”

Highlights? He must have watched some YouTube tutorials while she was at work.

“I’m sure it’s wonderful, Beej,” she smiled.

Beetlejuice looked up at her with a somewhat shy expression, placing the brush down and holding his canvas tightly in front of him.

“Alright, but you’d better tell me if it’s complete shit. I’ll know you’re lying, sweets.”

He gingerly turned the canvas around. Mina was absolutely astounded by what she saw. 

A mixture of yellow, white, green and pink covered the canvas, working together beautifully to portray a field of daisies and tulips. Mina leaned forward to get a closer look. Meticulous strokes and gentle brushes were used in order to create dozens of flowers making up the field. It truly was impressive.

“Beej! You’ve been practicing a lot! This is gorgeous!”

“Eh. It’s missing something. I was gonna leave space in the background and add some fruit trees but I got carried away with the flowers…”

“I think it’s perfect just the way it is! What kind of trees were you going to add though?”

“Lemon trees.”


	6. Are you?

Mina’s face heated up. Was this supposed to be a joke? Her mind, ever so helpful, immediately put some pieces together and reminded her of the citrus (lemon-orange) scented body wash she had used, the citrus body butter and the daisies she drew on the mirror. But come on, that’s all got to be coincidence right?

She stared blankly at him as she recounted all of the little intimate moments that had happened that day. The lingering touches, the stares that lasted just a bit too long, locked eyes that refused to be broken… Surely, she was just pulling things out of thin air and these were all coincidences, she thought. A demon ghost could certainly get anyone he desired. Dimensions, physical planes, all of that arbitrary nonsense didn’t stand in his way. So, why her?

“See somethin’ you like, babes?” he quirked a smile.

Well, if he was going to drop hints, then she could too. The worst thing that could possibly happen, she reasoned, is that he would see her hints as jokes and nothing more but maybe this was a good alternative instead of having to sit down and lay everything out on the table and possibly ruin a very valued friendship. She cringed just thinking about sitting down Beetlejuice and having him awkwardly reject her.

The problem was, subtlety wasn’t her strongest suit. She preferred to say things plainly and at face value. Beetlejuice was the same in this respect. But if saying things boldly isn’t considered laying everything out on the table, then what is? She questioned if she should just come right out and say it: say that she had feelings for him and that she has had those feelings for quite some time now. How would he react though? What if he went back to the Netherworld and never returned? 

“Uh… babes?”

If losing this friendship, the only thing that’s gotten her through these past few months, was bound to happen, then none of this is worth it. It’s not worth the risk. She can happily daydream for the rest of her life and be perfectly happy with having him in her life as is. The possibility of rejection would be too much to handle.

“Hey, you okay there sweets?”

Mina snapped out of it with a gasp, directing her attention towards the quizzical green eyes staring back at her.

“What? Oh, yeah, lemon trees would be beautiful but it looks wonderful as it is,” she stammered.

“Mina, is everything alright upstairs?”

The rare use of her name probably wasn’t a good idea as it only made her flush more.

“Y-yeah, everything’s fine! Maybe I’m just a bit dehydrated after my shower,” she mumbled, slowly standing up from her seat.

Beetlejuice rushed towards her side as she swayed slightly, grasping her shoulders to balance her.

“Easy there! Just sit down, sweets, you must not know who you’re dealing with!” He gently nudged her to sit back down and snapped his fingers. An icy glass of water appeared before her. He sat back down and watched as she downed the entire glass.

“Babes… If I’m… doing something you don’t like, you just gotta say the word, and I’m outta here,” he mumbled.

“Outta here? What do you mean? I don’t want you to leave,” she said.

“Oh! I just meant outta your hair. Y’know, if you needed some quiet time, or whatever,” he shuffled.

“That’s the last thing I want right now, Beej.”

His eyes brightened as he stared her down. It looked as though he was trying to carefully pick his next words. His eyes darted to her painting.

“Wait, what did you paint?”

Mina, confused at first, glanced down at her watercolor painting.

“Oh, right,” she said, “I just painted the view from the top of Collins Hill. I drove up there a while ago and just watched the city and the night sky. It was so beautiful, I didn’t even realize I was there all night!”

“I had you pegged for a sunset kinda gal, not so much a sunrise,” he chuckled.

“Well, I do like both. I think I prefer sunsets though, for sure. Staying up all night isn’t my idea of fun, usually. I guess it depends on the situation.”

“I getcha, sweets. Different strokes for different days, the whole ten yards and all that.”

She caught his meaning despite his butchering of the sayings. Another silence fell on them. Before she knew it, she was speaking again, her words ahead of her thoughts.

“Hey, Beej? Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, sweets, what’s up?”

“Are you… interested in anybody?”

“You finally saw my internet history, huh? I knew I should have cleared the history but I didn’t know how! And, duh, if I ask you how to do it then you’ll definitely go snooping! Listen sweets, I’m not that stupid, I know those MILFs don’t actually want to meet me-”

“What? No, I already know about… that! I’m talking about… anyone you know in real life.”

“Well, besides the bozos that call me to do their dirty work, I only really know you.”

“Then I guess I’m asking about me.”

Her face was definitely beet red right at this moment. Her head was slowly wrapping around the fact that she had just asked Beetlejuice, her very dear friend, if he was romantically interested in her. She almost didn’t even have enough time to start panicking at the thought of being dismissed when he asked:  
“You askin’ if I’m into you, sweets?” he smiled.

“Yes,” she swallowed, voice quivering.


	7. Breathing the Same Air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, sorry about the long wait! Thank you for being so patient, had some things to take care of irl, but I should be posting regularly now. You can follow my tumblr where I post the fic and some updates and asks and stuff :)  
> https://nysawrites.tumblr.com

It felt like an eternity had passed between them with Mina anxiously waiting for a response. The sly smile that Beetlejuice was once wearing started to fade away, a straight line replacing it. She thought about quickly interjecting and taking back what she said, claiming it was all a joke, when suddenly he spoke.

“Don’t go pulling my leg, babes. Give it to me straight,” he leaned closer with a stern look on his face.

“I am being serious.”

“There’s no taking this back, you get that, right?”

“Yes.”

Mina felt a lump in her throat and her chest started to tighten. A looming sense of dire consequence hovered over her, as if she had made a fatal mistake.

Beetlejuice leaned even closer, his breath tickling her lips.

“I’m into you, sweets. Have been for a while. I gotta think that someone like you wouldn’t ask me that unless there were… feelings on your side. If that’s true, don’t tease me babes. Once I’m in, I’m all in, you feel me?”

Her breath stuttered and she could smell the faint smell of moss and dust wafting off of him. His eyes were sultry and piercing and… distracting. It was difficult to string together the words she needed to respond to his question.

“Yeah, I feel you,” she eloquently added. “I’m all in… if you are.”

He chuckled and leaned even closer, their lips touching ever so slightly. Mina tried to move forward to connect them further but he pulled back.

“Last chance to back out, babes. We can forget all this and never talk about it again. I ain’t giving you up once I get a taste.”

Mina gulped but didn’t question for a second that this was what she really wanted, had wanted for a long time. She inched towards him slowly to get that contact back, which prompted him to rush forward and press his lips on her hungrily.

He placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her in tighter, leaving no space between them. Mina wrapped her arms around his side, holding him. His cold hands quickly warmed while playing with her hair.

This felt right. It felt like things had shifted between them and instead of being slightly ajar, it was meshing together perfectly. 

Their impromptu makeout session lasted for a few minutes until both of them pulled away, gasping for air. 

“You have no idea how long I wanted to do that, babes.”

“I think I have an idea.”

He grabbed her chin and tilted her head to the side, getting a better look at her neck. 

“What now, babes? Where do we go from here?”

Things were going smoothly but if Mina knew anything from her experiences of rushing a good thing, she knew that it’d be unwise to do so now.

“Let’s… watch a movie,” she mumbled.

“Really, babes? You sure?”

She nodded.

“Your choice, sweets. Let’s go!” He scooped her up bridal style, yielding a squeal from her and marched towards the living room couch. He plopped her down and snapped his fingers, turning the tv on. He sat close to her but left enough distance to where Mina could decide if she wanted some space or not. She decided she wanted to be closer and she scooted towards him. Beetlejuice smirked.

“What’re we watching babes?”


	8. Awakening

To Beetlejuice’s amazement, things were going unexpectedly well. There was no way in the Netherworld he would have guessed that his closest friend would have the same feelings as he did. He wanted everything, all at once, right this second and his impatience was skyrocketing. But Mina was delicate, emotionally. He had learned how to take notice of the little signs she displays when life was getting too intense for her. Causing any type of stress or anxiety for her was the last thing he wanted, of course. 

He felt spoiled, in all honesty. She allowed, even encouraged, him to relax and laze about all he wanted, to browse her books, art supplies and hell, even her clothes (he liked to wear her shirts sometimes, sue him). Besides the random few hours that he would be called to do some work for some breathers, he really had total freedom in her space, which she thoughtfully shared. It was now their space. And now? They were only getting closer, more intertwined and connected. This was a lot to handle but Beetlejuice was confident that if he tread lightly and kept checking in on her headspace, he’d be good to go. I mean, who could resist someone so charming?

Well, there was the fact that he got clingy sometimes and he teetered on the line between affection starved and desperate, but she probably didn’t notice that… right? Or the fact that he goes over the line sometimes with his jokes and pranks and crosses a boundary or two (which he apologizes for and makes a note to never do said action again) but that’s easy to move on from... He hoped. He knew Mina was deeply perceptive and noticed even the smallest things and never forgot them. Was it only a matter of time until she got tired of him? His cocksure attitude was quickly deflating until he felt Mina cuddle closer to him and rest her head on his shoulder. 

“We can watch whatever you want,” she whispered, eyes half-lidded.

Not to toot his own horn but it had been a pretty romantic day so far, he thought to himself. The best thing to tie up the evening would be to watch something all...mushy-gushy. He remembered back to some of the films she had on her “To Watch” list on NetherFlix and knew exactly what to put on.

“How about ‘Beauty and the Beast’, babes?”

“Oh I’ve been meaning to watch that! Do you want to watch the animated one or the live action one?”

“Cartoon for sure, babes.”

He was excited for something light-hearted and relaxing, something to show that he had her interests in mind. Nothing too serious or heavy, just a calm film about a beast falling in love with someone way out of his league. Should be a great time.

With a snap of his fingers, the tv flashed on and the movie started. The dim light illuminated Mina’s face and Beetlejuice couldn’t help but notice how soft she looked. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head and settled in for the movie.


End file.
